Written Answers Monday 25 July 2005

Scottish Executive

Apprenticeships

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the drop-out rates for modern apprenticeships were in each year from 1994 to 2004.

Allan Wilson: The drop-out rate for modern apprentices (MAs) is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. This information is not held centrally.

  However, the Executive did commission research in 2003 which looked at MA completion rates. The completion rates were as follows:

  2000-01: 48%

  2001-02: 51%

  2002-03: 48%

  The research pointed out that although the completion rate at that time (2003) was 48%, many apprentices who left the programme went into further or higher education, found or remained in full-time employment or changed their vocational qualification.

  4. Since the research, a number of recommendations have been implemented and the completion rates now stand at 55%.

Digital Technology

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has examined the wireless network which provides broadband internet in Estonia.

Tavish Scott: We are aware of the wireless network in Estonia. The Executive has of course supported a number of wireless network projects in Scotland including "Connected Communities" which will bring broadband coverage to parts of the Western Isles. Furthermore, our recent procurement was technology neutral and has led to a contract which will deliver broadband access to every Scottish community by the end of 2005.

Economy

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the gross domestic product per head of population was in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Dundee, (d) Glasgow and (e) Scotland in (i) the most recent year for which figures are available, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 1997.

Nicol Stephen: The following table provides the gross value added (GVA) per head between 1997 and 2002. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at basic prices is commonly referred to as GVA. The most recent year for which figures are available is 2002.

  Table 1: Gross Value Added (GVA)1 Per Head by NUTS3 Area at Current Basic Prices 1997 to 2002 (£ Per Head)

  

 
1997
2001
2002


Scotland
11,980
13,909
14,651


Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and North East Moray
16,603
19,438
20,234


Angus and Dundee City
11,190
12,250
12,737


Edinburgh, City of
18,301
22,283
24,016


Glasgow City
15,398
19,454
20,575



  Source: Office for National Statistics: Regional Accounts.

  Note: 1. Estimates are on a workplace basis. Estimates of workplace based GVA allocate income to the region in which commuters work.

  These figures are from the Regional Accounts produced by the Office for National Statistics. Figures are available down to NUTS3 area – for Aberdeen and Dundee, this area is wider than the local authority boundaries. GVA per head for other Scottish NUTS3 areas is available on the Office for National Statistics website www.statistics.gov.uk.

Ferry Services

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the tax and benefit implications would be for Caledonian MacBrayne employees if offshore employment contracts for seafarers were to be introduced.

Tavish Scott: Should Caledonian MacBrayne decide to move to offshore employment contracts there would be no effect on employees’ tax liabilities. Employees would continue to pay Income tax and National Insurance Contributions in the UK. As a result, there would be no effect on employees’ entitlement to contributory benefits including Incapacity Benefit, Basic Retirement Pension, Second State Pension (if not contracted out), Job Seekers Allowance and bereavement benefits. Employees would also continue to be eligible for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. The key changes would be in relation to Statutory Sick Pay and Statutory Maternity Pay, although broadly equivalent arrangements would apply, and employees would no longer be eligible for Statutory Paternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay. However, CalMac has confirmed that it would ensure that there would be no financial detriment to any employee as a result of any changes and this would be included in employees’ terms and conditions.

Ferry Services

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the potential saving of circa £1.5 million per annum that it is suggested would be achieved from "off-shoring" would be retained by Caledonian MacBrayne to provide increased services or clawed back by the Executive.

Tavish Scott: Caledonian MacBrayne has not yet decided whether it intends to pursue offshore crewing arrangements. If it does, I will consider the issue of the use of the savings taking into account the pressures faced by the company and those arising elsewhere across the transport programme.

Ferry Services

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft invitation to tender for Clyde and Hebridean ferry services makes any provision in respect of the successful tenderer being liable to pay UK taxes and national insurance and, if not, whether it will consider bids from companies which are registered offshore for tax purposes.

Tavish Scott: The draft service specification, published for consultation in December 2004, does not make any specific reference to the liability of the operator of the Clyde and Hebridean ferry services in relation to UK taxes and national insurance. If tendering is required, the liability of the operator of the services to UK tax would be determined according to UK tax law.

  If tendering goes ahead the Executive would be required, by the Maritime Cabotage Regulation, to conclude the contract on a non-discriminatory basis in respect of all community shipowners (as defined by the regulation). The Executive would not be able to take into account the place where a bidder is registered, providing the bidder fulfils the criteria for a community shipowner

Ferry Services

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will clarify the position in respect of employees of Caledonian MacBrayne regarding their security of employment if the company registers offshore for tax purposes and, in particular, whether their (a) security of employment and (b) rights and conditions of employment would be affected by any such change.

Tavish Scott: Caledonian MacBrayne has advised its employees that should offshore crewing proceed, the company would ensure that there was no financial detriment to any employee as a result of any changes and that this guarantee would be written into employees’ terms and conditions of employment. CalMac employees would continue to be employed within the UK and on UK flagged vessels. As such they would continue to have the same statutory rights they currently enjoy in relation to their employment such as rights to redundancy consultation and payments and protection against unfair dismissal.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the first set of figures on applications to the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme and what data it will make available.

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how often it will provide information and statistics on applicants to the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme and what the status is of the applications.

Mr Tom McCabe: We are working closely with the Home Office regarding the administration of the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme, including the arrangement for the publication of information on applicants to the scheme.

  We will inform parliament of our intentions, once these arrangements are finalised.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what input it had into the decision on fee levels for visas for the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive has been working closely with the Home Office on the development of the scheme. However, issues regarding the administrative charges for the processing of application are a matter for the Home Office and UK Visas. The fees for the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme are the same as other comparable managed migration schemes.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the difference is between the cost of applying for a Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme visa from within the United Kingdom and applying from outside the United Kingdom and what the reasons are for any difference.

Mr Tom McCabe: The application fee for leave to remain under the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme when applying from within the UK is set by the Home Office. The fee is £335 for applications by post and £500 when applying in person at one of the public enquiry offices.

  The application fee under the scheme for entry clearance from outside the UK is £85 and is set by UK Visas.

  Fee rates for the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme are the same as other comparable managed migration schemes and are a matter for the respective administrative department.

G8 Summit

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister has accepted any dinner invitations at the G8 summit at Gleneagles.

Mr Tom McCabe: The First Minister accepted an invitation by Her Majesty the Queen to attend a dinner on Wednesday 6 July at Gleneagles to mark the opening of the G8 summit.

  The First Minister hosted a dinner himself at the St Andrews Bay Hotel, St Andrews during the Summit for some of the G8 outreach leaders; guests included President Mbeki, Kofi Annan, Rodrigo de Rato and Paul Wolfowitz.

Public Appointments

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the recent appointments to the board of the Water Industry Commission, including the post of Chief Executive, were subject to an open and competitive selection process and, if so, how many applicants were interviewed for the posts.

Rhona Brankin: The chair and other ordinary members of the Water Industry Commission were appointed after an open competition conducted under guidelines issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland (OCPAS) and in accordance with Schedule A1, paragraphs 3(1) and 5(1) of Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 as amended by the Water Services etc (Scotland) Act 2005. The Chief Executive was appointed by Scottish ministers after consultation with the chair in accordance with schedule A1, paragraphs 7(2) & (3). Four applicants were interviewed for the chair post and ten for member posts from total applicant numbers of 24 and 93 respectively.

Public Private Partnerships

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive within what interest rate range, relative to the base rate, core funding for PFI and PPP contracts has been in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-17635 on 12 July 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Public Private Partnerships

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many valuations of PFI/PPP assets where transfer of ownership to the public sector will take place on conclusion of the contract have been undertaken and what the total value was in each case.

Mr Tom McCabe: None.

  The improved or new assets constructed as a result of PPP projects will usually be accounted for on the contractor’s balance sheet. Valuations and accounting treatment during the contract are the responsibility of the PPP contractor. When the asset is eventually transferred to the public sector client at the end of the contract, the asset will take its place on the public sector balance sheet and be valued and maintained accordingly.

Rail Services

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the Larkhall to Milngavie rail line to open for public trains.

Tavish Scott: Construction of the Larkhall to Milngavie rail line is proceeding to plan and I expect services to be running by the end of this year.

Scottish Executive Advertising

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much (a) it and (b) non-departmental public bodies spent on advertising in 2004-05, broken down by media type.

The Executive has provided a corrected answer which is published in the Written Answer Report on 14 September 2005: see http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/pqa/wa-05/wa0914.htm

Mr Tom McCabe: Information on non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) is not held centrally by the Executive. NDPBs are responsible for the management and monitoring of their own budgets and spending on advertising is an operational matter for them to manage within their overall budget provision.

  The advertising spend for the Scottish Executive by media type for 2004-05 is listed in the following table.

  

Media
TV
£1,834,251.05


Radio
£1,142,097.57


Cinema
£137,351.33


Press
£1,398,721.96


Outdoor/Ambient
£1,361,067.95


Online
£79,889.65


Total
£5,953,379.51


Research
Total
£443,803.80


Agency Fees
Total
£623,327.29


Production
Total
£2,524,401.44


Advertising Total
£9,544,912.05

Scottish Executive Staff

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7216 by Mr Andy Kerr on 20 April 2004, how many members of staff are employed in its Media and Communications Group, broken down into press officers, support for press office, publicity officers, internal communications, support for internal communications, forward planning, support for forward planning and any other staff type.

Mr Tom McCabe: There are currently 91.3 (full-time equivalent) staff employed in the Media and Communications Division, including five external marketing secondees. A detailed breakdown is available in the Scottish Executive business directory, which is available to MSPs.

Scottish Executive Staff

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7213 by Mr Andy Kerr on 20 April 2004, how many full-time equivalent members of staff are employed by it and each of its executive agencies and associated departments.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is contained in the following table.

  Number of Permanent Full-Time Equivalent Staff in the Scottish Executive Core Departments, Agencies and Associated Departments at June 2005

  

Scottish Executive Core Departments
4,410.6



  

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal
1,340.8



  

Agencies and Associated Departments
 


Accountant in Bankruptcy
106.1


Communities Scotland
415.0


Fisheries Research Service
316.1


General Register Office for Scotland
227.6


Historic Scotland
846.1


HMI Education
206.8


National Archive of Scotland
157.3


Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
12.1


Registers of Scotland
1,404.3


Scottish Agricultural Science Agency
145.4


Scottish Building Standards Agency
23.8


Scottish Court Service
1,045.8


Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency
282.6


Scottish Prison Service
4,104.1


Scottish Public Pensions Agency
197.9


Social Work Inspection Agency
45.8


Student Awards Agency for Scotland
137.4

Scottish Executive Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many press officers it employed and what their cost was in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information from 2002 onwards is set out in the tables below. (It would only be possible to provide data prior to this date at disproportionate cost.) The information covers mainstream press officers. It does not include any staff working on support activities to the ministerial press teams; e.g. staff working in strategic communications or media monitoring activities.

  Staff in post figures are shown as a 1 January snapshot each year and also include the position as at 1 July 2005.

  

As at:
Press Officers in Post


01/01/2002
44


01/01/2003
45.5


01/01/2004
42.5


01/01/2005
44


01/07/2005
44.8



  Costs are salary costs, (which include employers’ costs, but not overtime or any ancillary office costs; e.g. accommodation), in each financial year and also include the spend in the first two months of 2005-06.

  

Financial Year
Salary Costs


2002-03
£1,633,946


2003-04
£1,709,727


2004–05
£1,897,159


01/04/2005 – 31/05/2005
£316,051



  The increase in spend reflects the Scottish Executive corporate pay increases each year. It is also worth commenting that the spend in 2003-04 was slightly lower than expected because a number of posts fell vacant in the course of that year.

Scottish Executive Staff

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to address any pregnancy discrimination in its departments.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to its management on the issue of pregnancy discrimination in its departments.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive is an equal opportunity employer and takes its responsibilities to staff under legislation in relation to discrimination, working practices and equality seriously. It is the Executive’s policy to ensure that, as far as reasonably practicable all staff are able to work in an environment free from discrimination, harassment/bullying and victimisation.

  To help achieve this aim training is provided in all areas of equality, diversity and discrimination to staff and managers at all levels. In addition, an intranet site provides information and guidance to staff on a range of equality and diversity issues.

Scottish Executive Staff

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding is available to counter any pregnancy discrimination in its departments.

Mr Tom McCabe: There is no specific funding identified to counter pregnancy discrimination or any other form of discrimination in the Scottish Executive. The Executive has an inclusive approach to equality and diversity issues and is committed to the eradication of discrimination in its departments through a programme of training and information provision to all staff.

Scottish Executive Staff

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pregnancy discrimination complaints have been received by its (a) departments, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive and the agencies of its main bargaining unit did not hold reliable data on formal discrimination complaints on a central database prior to January 2005. Since January 2005 the Scottish Executive has received one formal discrimination complaint relating to pregnancy.

  Information about complaints in non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally.

Scottish Executive Staff

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its officials have travelled abroad on official business in each year since 1999.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total travel costs of officials travelling abroad have been in each year since 2001.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information is not held by the Scottish Executive in the format requested.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Freedom of Information

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S2W-17182 by Robert Brown on 21 June 2005, whether it will provide a breakdown of the cost of £370 for providing two retrieved emails and a copy of an existing report anent the alleged telephone interception of my Galashiels office and Parliament Headquarters.

George Reid MSP: (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): Scottish Parliament Corporate Body staff members do not currently record exact time spent on each individual task. In the case of this particular Freedom of Information (FOI) request, times were estimates, based on either requests made of individual staff members on time spent or known time spent by/with the FOI Action Officer.

  These particular estimates, broken down and detailed below, were input with a high degree of confidence, on an on-going basis for the duration of the request. This particular request consumed a significant amount of resource, primarily because the originating incident on which the request was based happened five years ago, and all staff members who dealt with it have since left the organisation. As a result a fairly extensive investigation had to be undertaken to establish what happened, and subsequently, who held information about it now.

  The breakdown is as follows: staff time from BIT – 16.5 hours and from the Security office – 1.5 hours. The formula for calculating FOI requests is the number of hours taken to answer the request multiplied by a charge rate of £20 per hour, which resulted in the figure of £370 which was given in the answer to question S2W-17182.